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Chevrolet SAIL LS ABS “Finding new roads”
Hi all this is the ownership review of our new Sail sedan
The story began seriously a month ago.
Requirements
1 The car is needed to ply our weekly highway journey – very frequent
2 carry moderate luggage to airport regularly
3 drivers friendly
4 ample front and rear legroom
5 safety equipment like ABS ,Airbags
6 Practicality
7 Should be easily maintainable Max 5yrs
8 acceptable build quality both interior and exterior
We had on our list of probables
Sedans
1 Swift Dzire
2 Toyota Etios
3 Fiat Linea
4 Tata Manza
5 Ford fiesta classic
Hatchbacks
1 Hyundai i20
2 Fiat Punto 75
3 Vista D90
Swift Dzire : We already had a swift dzire 2009 in our family. The build quality of metal on doors and plastics of the bumpers was of question on both the new and old dzire. The interiors of the car were nice but the car is not well proportioned .The fall in pick up and punchiness of the turbo in new dzire is not to our liking compared to old dzire .With three people in the back the car looks more tilted or ducked towards the rear also our testdrive car had its underbody scratch every speed breaker we drove thru. The diesel clatter was more audible inside the cabin compared to the older version.
Toyota Etios: This car looked very bare basic to me .This car didn’t please us to the eye .There was not much insulation of engine noise nor the tyre noise inside the cabin .On enquiring with the sales man he told us that the car was hit in the cab segment .With that statement we have decide to drop etios from our list.
Fiat Linea: This was our favourite car in the list .The car was a looker and very big. But to our surprise There were two tatafiat dealers in our city and both have no stock of lineas and only one has a punto2012 tuscan wine model on display. When we enquired for test drive the reply was the test drive cars were sold off long ago and we are winding up fiat car sales at our showrooms .
Tata Manza : There was a club class parked in the showroom. The sales guy insisted us to buy it and said that Tata was giving 50k discount on it.we test drove it and felt very similar to our old vista which we had but a little more torquey. We felt why buy a same car with a boot strapped on it and the instrument panel in the right place.
Ford fiesta classic : There was no response from the sales person at the showroom and it was a very pathetic experience .Though the car was good , the lack of response and we were told the test ride was not available at the moment. we walked away.
Hyundai i20 : The car was so nice, quality of materials was good. Fit and finish was impressive but no test drive vehicle was available reason not told. They insisted us to test drive fluidic verna instead. Later a new car was given for test drive .It was nice and throttle response felt good. Later I called up a friend who owns fluidic i20 for his advice and he said maintenance and service is not good.
Punto75Hp : Only one example available and even if we bought it , the service for the car for its free servicing’s is not available at the dealer as fiat has no independent dealer in Visakhapatnam till now and after march 31 I would be doomed.
VistaD90 : The ride was not so impressive and im not prepared for another vista .I had my lessons for owning one.
Chevrolet SAIL : Remotely we didn’t have the sail or any other Chevrolet in our list .On our way from Hyundai showroom we have passed by Chevrolet showroom and a car in light gold colour glazed through the showroom and we stopped by to see what was it. First Look made me feel the car is well proportioned and conservatively styled. The interiors were a light beige and coffee bean colour and offer an airy feeling.Plastics are strong and well grained similar to Toyota innova .Open the doors and close them they shut with a thud somewhat similar to punto. The salesman asked us to take a TD .
How it drives and feels: Start the engine and the quietness of the cabin and engine noise reduction is very good. The gear lever is sporty with leather wrapping and piano black finish on the top and perfect short throws. I didn’t feel the rubberiness during the shift of the gears .Slot it into the first gear and declutch the engine is eager to pull .There is very minute turbo lag evident up till 1700rpm past that the turbo pulls strongly all the way. The steering is light,sensitive and very sharp. You might not get the amount of feedback as the swift but it is predictable. Suspension soaks up anything you throw at it on the road which is leaps and bounds ahead of the current generation swift Dzire that I testdrove . While cornering at speeds the car gives you the confidence to push it harder, unlike the old dzire which is tail happy. At speeds above 100 the suspension feels firm and planted without any wobbling or sponginess. Past the 120+ mark you can notice the engine cry hard and power tapering off. Braking on this car is a highlight the ABS kicks in precisely and stops the car in a straight line . There is no spongy type of feel in the braking and the brake bite is good. The gear box has the reverse slot placed ahead of first gear and to engage it you need to pull the collar on the gear stick up. With the light steering and wide glass area parking the car in reverse is easy. The head lights produce perfect brightness and we need not require to upgrade the bulbs. Seats are well bolstered but I would suggest a little more thigh support would be more comfortable. The grip of the Apollo tyres is very good.Ground clearance is very good you dont scratch the underbody against speed bumps even in with 5 persons aboard.The ingress and egress is very good even for elderly people.
FIT AND FINISH : The panels gaps pretty tight and even .Paint job is very good and even inner panels are painted perfectly. The quality of plastics is upto the mark but had they used black and beige it could have been even better. Everything in the car is built to last a long time .(Note: Both the test drive car and our car did not have even a single rattle. This is something to be taken note for good workmanship TD car clocked 3800kms).
LIKES: Ride quality
Handling
Value for money
Well-proportioned and built car in the price bracket
Best state of tuned Multijet diesel available in india with 22.1 KMPL
Service intervals similar to fiat and not as frequent as swift or dzire
Chevrolet promise 3yr service package that covers everything except
tyres and battery and all we need is fill it shut it and forget about service
costs for 3yrs. For 20.5grand
DISLIKES: Conservative looks at front but rear looks very nice.
Power window switches placed before the gear lever looks dated
(This is all I dislike for now will update if necessary)
BUYING : the car has no freebies and commands a wait list for a month for select colors like gold and grey as it was launched on FEB 1st this year .Also due to the demand Chevy hiked its price by 6000rs .
Ex showroom Visakhapatnam 697484
Insurance (-NCB 50% -Agent commission) 9105
Life tax 83700
Handling 3000
T/R charges 250
P.Reg Charges 1500
Chevy Promise 20500
On Road 815539
Accessories:
Seat covers with free steering cover 5000
Faux wood stickers + sill plates 2000
TOTAL 822539
Thank you .
Hi all this is the ownership review of our new Sail sedan
The story began seriously a month ago.
Requirements
1 The car is needed to ply our weekly highway journey – very frequent
2 carry moderate luggage to airport regularly
3 drivers friendly
4 ample front and rear legroom
5 safety equipment like ABS ,Airbags
6 Practicality
7 Should be easily maintainable Max 5yrs
8 acceptable build quality both interior and exterior
We had on our list of probables
Sedans
1 Swift Dzire
2 Toyota Etios
3 Fiat Linea
4 Tata Manza
5 Ford fiesta classic
Hatchbacks
1 Hyundai i20
2 Fiat Punto 75
3 Vista D90
Swift Dzire : We already had a swift dzire 2009 in our family. The build quality of metal on doors and plastics of the bumpers was of question on both the new and old dzire. The interiors of the car were nice but the car is not well proportioned .The fall in pick up and punchiness of the turbo in new dzire is not to our liking compared to old dzire .With three people in the back the car looks more tilted or ducked towards the rear also our testdrive car had its underbody scratch every speed breaker we drove thru. The diesel clatter was more audible inside the cabin compared to the older version.
Toyota Etios: This car looked very bare basic to me .This car didn’t please us to the eye .There was not much insulation of engine noise nor the tyre noise inside the cabin .On enquiring with the sales man he told us that the car was hit in the cab segment .With that statement we have decide to drop etios from our list.
Fiat Linea: This was our favourite car in the list .The car was a looker and very big. But to our surprise There were two tatafiat dealers in our city and both have no stock of lineas and only one has a punto2012 tuscan wine model on display. When we enquired for test drive the reply was the test drive cars were sold off long ago and we are winding up fiat car sales at our showrooms .
Tata Manza : There was a club class parked in the showroom. The sales guy insisted us to buy it and said that Tata was giving 50k discount on it.we test drove it and felt very similar to our old vista which we had but a little more torquey. We felt why buy a same car with a boot strapped on it and the instrument panel in the right place.
Ford fiesta classic : There was no response from the sales person at the showroom and it was a very pathetic experience .Though the car was good , the lack of response and we were told the test ride was not available at the moment. we walked away.
Hyundai i20 : The car was so nice, quality of materials was good. Fit and finish was impressive but no test drive vehicle was available reason not told. They insisted us to test drive fluidic verna instead. Later a new car was given for test drive .It was nice and throttle response felt good. Later I called up a friend who owns fluidic i20 for his advice and he said maintenance and service is not good.
Punto75Hp : Only one example available and even if we bought it , the service for the car for its free servicing’s is not available at the dealer as fiat has no independent dealer in Visakhapatnam till now and after march 31 I would be doomed.
VistaD90 : The ride was not so impressive and im not prepared for another vista .I had my lessons for owning one.
Chevrolet SAIL : Remotely we didn’t have the sail or any other Chevrolet in our list .On our way from Hyundai showroom we have passed by Chevrolet showroom and a car in light gold colour glazed through the showroom and we stopped by to see what was it. First Look made me feel the car is well proportioned and conservatively styled. The interiors were a light beige and coffee bean colour and offer an airy feeling.Plastics are strong and well grained similar to Toyota innova .Open the doors and close them they shut with a thud somewhat similar to punto. The salesman asked us to take a TD .
How it drives and feels: Start the engine and the quietness of the cabin and engine noise reduction is very good. The gear lever is sporty with leather wrapping and piano black finish on the top and perfect short throws. I didn’t feel the rubberiness during the shift of the gears .Slot it into the first gear and declutch the engine is eager to pull .There is very minute turbo lag evident up till 1700rpm past that the turbo pulls strongly all the way. The steering is light,sensitive and very sharp. You might not get the amount of feedback as the swift but it is predictable. Suspension soaks up anything you throw at it on the road which is leaps and bounds ahead of the current generation swift Dzire that I testdrove . While cornering at speeds the car gives you the confidence to push it harder, unlike the old dzire which is tail happy. At speeds above 100 the suspension feels firm and planted without any wobbling or sponginess. Past the 120+ mark you can notice the engine cry hard and power tapering off. Braking on this car is a highlight the ABS kicks in precisely and stops the car in a straight line . There is no spongy type of feel in the braking and the brake bite is good. The gear box has the reverse slot placed ahead of first gear and to engage it you need to pull the collar on the gear stick up. With the light steering and wide glass area parking the car in reverse is easy. The head lights produce perfect brightness and we need not require to upgrade the bulbs. Seats are well bolstered but I would suggest a little more thigh support would be more comfortable. The grip of the Apollo tyres is very good.Ground clearance is very good you dont scratch the underbody against speed bumps even in with 5 persons aboard.The ingress and egress is very good even for elderly people.
FIT AND FINISH : The panels gaps pretty tight and even .Paint job is very good and even inner panels are painted perfectly. The quality of plastics is upto the mark but had they used black and beige it could have been even better. Everything in the car is built to last a long time .(Note: Both the test drive car and our car did not have even a single rattle. This is something to be taken note for good workmanship TD car clocked 3800kms).
LIKES: Ride qualityHandling
Value for money
Well-proportioned and built car in the price bracket
Best state of tuned Multijet diesel available in india with 22.1 KMPL
Service intervals similar to fiat and not as frequent as swift or dzire
Chevrolet promise 3yr service package that covers everything except
tyres and battery and all we need is fill it shut it and forget about service
costs for 3yrs. For 20.5grand
DISLIKES: Conservative looks at front but rear looks very nice.
Power window switches placed before the gear lever looks dated
(This is all I dislike for now will update if necessary)
BUYING : the car has no freebies and commands a wait list for a month for select colors like gold and grey as it was launched on FEB 1st this year .Also due to the demand Chevy hiked its price by 6000rs .
Ex showroom Visakhapatnam 697484
Insurance (-NCB 50% -Agent commission) 9105
Life tax 83700
Handling 3000
T/R charges 250
P.Reg Charges 1500
Chevy Promise 20500
On Road 815539
Accessories:
Seat covers with free steering cover 5000
Faux wood stickers + sill plates 2000
TOTAL 822539
Thank you .
Last edited:
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
and i agree , black + beige combination always looks better 
![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
and color too(my Ritz is of same color)
![[thumbsup]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20Up.png "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
. And your photography skills are really good.
